The University of Michigan has announced a collaboration with government and business to make its hometown of Ann Arbor the first American city with a shared fleet of networked, driverless vehicles by 2021.
The school says its Mobility Transformation Center is pursuing the goal of having a driverless vehicle system in operation within eight years.
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University Transportation Research Institute director Peter Sweatman says "Ann Arbor will be seen as the leader in 21st century mobility."
He says the program seeks to show that driverless vehicles "can be safe, effective and commercially successful."
Researchers are conducting a street-level connected vehicle experiment called Safety Pilot that involves 3,000 area residents in networked vehicles.
Last months, the university's regents approved $6.5 million, 30-acre driverless car test site.